text:
By Christian Zibreg on Jun 13, 2013
There’s no escaping budget iPhone talk today. Reuters opened the morning discussion with a write-up calling for two large-screen iPhones in 2014 and citing sources insisting that an elusive less-pricey iPhone will get released later this year at a somewhat unbelievable price point of just $99.
Shortly after, the reliable Japanese blog Macotkara learned from its sources that the alleged budget iPhone will come in five colors borrowed from Apple’s iPhone 5 bumpers: black, white, pink, orange and blue. A Chinese newspaper now seemingly corroborates the chatter, writing that a bunch of Taiwanese suppliers are now shipping parts ahead of the handset assembly… Read More
By Christian Zibreg on May 29, 2013
We first heard from The New York Times that the world’s top contract manufacturer Foxconn is looking past the iPhone amid Apple’s slowing growth. Reuters previously ran an anti-Apple piece which asserted that Tim Cook & Co. are looking to shift from Foxconn to rival Pegatron, which currently builds the older iPhone 4/4S models.
On Monday, The Wall Street Journal ran a story claiming Foxconn is looking to manufacture, market and sell its own mobile accessories compatible with iOS devices. Moreover, the story goes, Foxconn is said to be expanding its high-margin retail operations and investing in content and services.
Today, the Rupert Murdoch-owned newspaper sheds more light on the subject, claiming Cook has re-shuffled Apple’s supply chain and re-iterating that Pegatron will be the “primary assembler” of Apple’s rumored low-cost iPhone, which the Journal expects to be offered “later this year”… Read More
By Christian Zibreg on May 28, 2013
Yesterday, The Wall Street Journal said the world’s top contract manufacturer, Foxconn, was looking to diversify beyond assembling Apple products.
Today, a Taiwanese publication reports that Foxconn has teamed up with the Firefox browser maker Mozilla on a mobile device to be powered by the Firefox OS.
This isn’t a rumor: the two partners have invited the press to the unveiling of a new device on June 3. According to the people in the know, the mysterious gizmo will be a tablet. The development puts Foxconn in a somewhat odd position as it assembles Apple’s iPhones and iPads, though I doubt Apple is worried much – if at all – considering the Firefox OS is an also-ran in the mobile arena… Read More
By Christian Zibreg on May 27, 2013
Taiwan’s Hon Hai Precision Industry Co. aka Foxconn, the world’s top assembler of consumer electronics, is mulling making and selling its own branded accessories in a move to diversify beyond assembling Apple products.
Foxconn over the years has grown increasingly reliant on Apple contract and with increasing competition and Apple’s slowing growth, the manufacturer is starting to feel the pain, too. The Apple biz comprises an estimated 50 percent of Foxconn’s revenue, the Wall Street Journal reported Monday.
And earlier this month, The New York Times similarly reported that Foxconn is looking beyond the iPhone and anticipating to mass-manufacture a rumored standalone Apple television set… Read More
By Ed Sutherland on May 22, 2013
Apple CEO Tim Cook, while squirming Tuesday under Congressional questions about the company’s tax-savings tactics, revealed an interesting tidbit: the Lone Star State will build the the tech giant’s made-in-USA Mac. Testifying before the Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations, Cook said the Mac would be assembled in Texas, with parts coming from other regions of the country… Read More
By Christian Zibreg on May 13, 2013
Hon Hai Precision Industry aka Foxconn, Apple’s contract manufacturer of choice and the world’s largest product assembler, is under threat to losing orders to rival Pegatron, which has been building older Apple products Like the iPhone 4S and 4.
According to a new Reuters report, Pegatron “wants to grab more orders to assemble the fast-selling iPhone and iPad.” And in order to achieve this self-imposed goal, the Taiwanese manufacturer, which also builds the iPad mini, is reportedly ready to offer “more competitive pricing,” even if it has to sacrifice its margins. The news gathering organization reports that Pegatron “appears to be succeeding” in pulling in more orders from Apple… Read More
By Christian Zibreg on May 7, 2013
Hon Hai Precision Industry – better known in the Western world as Foxconn – is the world’s top manufacturer of consumer electronics. And with Apple products – the iPhone in particular – accounting for at least 40 percent of its revenue, the contract manufacturer’s fortunes are tied to Apple’s.
Needles to say, the company’s leadership never complained about relying on Apple so much as long as sales were growing substantially. But with Apple’s growth cooling off amid a broader sales lull affecting pricey high-end smartphones like the iPhone, Foxconn is now looking to lessen its exposure on the Apple smartphone and is apparently gearing up for a mass-scale production of an Apple-branded television set, the rumored iTV… Read More
By Cody Lee on Apr 22, 2013
When Apple introduced the iPhone 5 last fall, it made sure to mention its complex manufacturing process. “Never before have we built a product with this extraordinary level of fit and finish,” Jony Ive said during a video on the handset.
The extra effort has obviously paid off, as the iPhone 5 has been very popular with consumers. But it’s also causing problems for Foxconn, Apple’s manufacturing partner, who continues to struggle with the device’s intricate production methods… Read More
By Ed Sutherland on Apr 16, 2013
Remember how Apple’s use of Chinese factories to produce its iPad was the focus of attention during 2012? Well, so did members of the Pulitzer committee, which Monday awarded a 2013 Pulitzer Prize to the New York Times.
The paper won critical awards for its iEconomy series, a nine-part look at the working conditions in Chinese factories producing the popular tablet. But was the series a “penetrating look into business practices by Apple,” as the Pulitzer announcement claims, or simply a way to rehash a common practice by using the Apple brand as the foil? Read More
By Christian Zibreg on Apr 15, 2013
Hon Hai Precision Industry aka Foxconn, which assembles iPhones and iPads for Apple, but also consumer electronics on behalf of other vendors, has started hiring assembly-line workers in the tens of thousands in preparation for Apple’s next iPhone, both Bloomberg and the credulous Wall Street Journal reported Monday.
People familiar with the matter tell the publications that the world’s largest contract manufacturer has been recruiting workers for the past month at its plant in Zhengzhou, eastern China.
The reports come following February indications pointing to Foxconn imposing a recruitment freeze across almost all of its factories in China after more workers returned from the Chinese New Year break than did last year, a move some attributed to the supposedly weakening iPhone demand… Read More
By Christian Zibreg on Apr 10, 2013
Hon Hai Precision Industry, also known as Foxconn, assembles many Apple products, including iPhones and iPads.
And with an estimated 60 to 70 percent of its revenues owed to the Apple orders account, Foxconn’s earnings are scrutinized for any possible hint which could point to increasing or decreasing demand for Apple products.
Today, the contract manufacturer has posted a nineteen percent decline in sales in the first quarter compared with a year earlier. As you’d expect, Reuters immediately speculated the numbers are down because the company is “hurt by disappointing demand for the iPhone”… Read More
By Christian Zibreg on Mar 28, 2013
Earlier in the week, the somewhat reliable DigiTimes reported that Apple’s rumored standalone TV set could ship later this year with a 4K Ultra HD screen. Another report out from Asia has it that Apple’s contract manufacturer Hon Hai Precision Industry, better known as Foxconn, will supply high-resolution panels for the product.
Sources estimate Apple won’t start shipping its television set until next year at the earliest… Read More
By Christian Zibreg on Mar 25, 2013
Hon Hai Precision Industry, better known in the Western world as Foxconn, is Apple’s favorite manufacturer that assembles a lot of its products, with Pegatron taking care of the rest. Foxconn also helps a number of other tech giants build and assemble their gadgets.
As Apple is its most visible high-volume client, Foxconn’s earnings are often scrutinized for hints of Apple’s sales performance. Today, Foxconn reported a record quarterly profit on increased manufacturing efficiency and output of Apple’s iPhones and iPads, after having solved production bottlenecks in the prior quarter.
The increased revenue and improved profit margins also could mean that Foxconn may have had some room to push Apple for better pricing, Bloomberg reports… Read More
By Christian Zibreg on Mar 19, 2013
Earlier this month we told you that Apple’s frenemy Samsung confirmed a plan to pour a cool $112 million into buying a three percent stake in Sharp. Making matters complicated, Sharp, an Apple supplier, has been trying to negotiate another investment from Apple’s favorite manufacturer Hon Hai Precision Industry, known in the Western world as Foxconn. Last year, as you know, Foxconn was trying to acquire an eleven percent stake in Sharp.
There have been indications that Foxconn wanted to re-negotiate after Sharp’s share price tumbled, but most recent reports assert the deal has all but fallen apart. We’re now hearing that Foxconn CEO Terry Gou has cancelled talks with Sharp after learning that his potential partner has gone to bed with Samsung, even more so now that Sharp is expected to supply more LCD panels to Samsung than to Apple… Read More
By Ed Sutherland on Mar 11, 2013
Spring is just around the corner, the sun is shining and new concerns about Apple suppliers appear like so many dandelions. Never mind CEO Tim Cook said it’s impossible to determine the health of the iPhone maker simply by looking at suppliers.
Just as Washington, DC trades in political rumors, Wall Street and Silicon Valley are back with new scuttlebutt about Apple’s supply chain.
As a result, Apple’s stock dipped lower Monday on word that orders to suppliers were the worst on record – at least for one analyst. Others believe higher sales of iPad minis versus the larger tablet is cause for concern, while still others forecast a slow summer and then return to profitability… Read More
By Christian Zibreg on Mar 11, 2013
Apple’s contract manufacturer Hon Hai Precision Industry – also know in the Western world as the controversial Foxconn – and Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC), the world’s largest independent semiconductor foundry, will each add 5,000 new jobs just as Apple is conveniently expected to refresh its existing product families and possibly venture into the HD TV and smartwatch markets. If true, the report could also explain “the worst February” Topeka Capital has seen in terms of Apple’s supply chain procurement of components… Read More
By Cody Lee on Mar 6, 2013
About this time last year, Apple was dealing with a wealth of bad press over the working conditions at its Asian suppliers. The New York Times painted a particularly bleak picture of the situation, with underpaid, underaged, overworked employees.
Since then, the company has really stepped up its game in supplier responsibility. The companies who used underage workers have been cut, workers have received pay raises, and as of January, 99% of them came in under the 60-hour work week limit… Read More
By Cody Lee on Mar 5, 2013
Talk of Apple’s next-generation iPhone has really begun to pick up over the past few days, with two reports coming within the last 24 hours claiming that the company is set to roll out its new handset this summer.
And that continues to be the consensus, as another report has surfaced this evening corroborating the theory. Japanese blog Macotakara is claiming Foxconn has begun ramping up production of the iPhone 5S… Read More
By Christian Zibreg on Mar 1, 2013
Per a rumor out of China, Apple won’t release a new iPhone at its upcoming summer developer conference. Instead, Tim Cook & Co. are thought to be targeting an August 2013 launch for both the iPhone 5S, a specs upgrade, and an inexpensive iPhone model, aimed at emerging markets that sell mostly unsubsidized handsets. And for the first time, the next iPhone will be Apple’s first truly world phone capable of supporting a bunch of flavors of fourth-generation Long-Term Evolution (LTE) radio technology, including China Mobile-compatible TD-SCDMA network… Read More
By Cody Lee on Feb 25, 2013
For a year now, we’ve been hearing that Foxconn was going to buy a large stake in Sharp Corp. Speculation of the deal has run rampant, going so far as to implicate that the partnership was part of Apple’s plans to build a TV.
But over the last several months, Sharp’s business has started to falter, causing Foxconn to rethink things. Since then, the companies haven’t been able to come to an agreement. And according to a new report, they won’t… Read More


text:
Not only will it teach you about the tools you can use, like who can see your posts, how to control what information they use to show you ads, reviewing old posts, and even deleting your account. As Facebook's chief privacy officer Erin Egan puts it, "Privacy controls are only powerful if you know how to find and use them".
According to the company, it bases its data protection on giving the user control of their privacy and helping them understand how their data is used.
Facebook will introduce a new privacy center this year that features all core privacy settings in one place, ahead of the introduction of a strict new European Union data protection law that takes effect on May 25th.
Earlier this month CEO Mark Zuckerberg pledged to "fix" Facebook by ensuring users saw more posts from people rather than brands as it seeks to maintain an audience that is aging and posting less amid fierce competition from new services such as Snapchat and Instagram, the latter of which is of course owned by Facebook.
Lucas Moura signs Tottenham deal as Arsenal are frozen out
Reports from Thursday said that Spurs had offered somewhere in the region of €25m for Lucas, while PSG were holding out for €30m. It could well be that Lucas is the breakaway star that Tottenham thought they were signing in Moussa Sissoko back in 2016.
For Facebook and other Silicon Valley giants, complying with the GDPR may pose greater costs and require additional resources as their business models rely on the collection and sale of consumer habits online.
She said: "We recognise that people use Facebook to connect, but not everyone wants to share everything with everyone - including with us".
As for the new privacy center, Facebook didn't share many details outside of it arriving this year and that it will be gathering feedback from a variety of sources. Coinciding with "Data Privacy Day", Facebook Sunday released a series of data privacy announcements. The videos will appear in the News Feed, he said.
This announcement comes few days after it was confirmed by the company's chief operating officer, Sheryl Sandberg. GDPR intends to increase an internet user's right to be forgotten. Facebook notes that it's accountable for maintaining privacy while also noting that it's a process of continuous improvement. Closer to home, the company has come under heightened scrutiny over its handling of Russian disinformation campaigns that ran on the social media platform before and after the 2016 presidential election.

domain: news


text:
A NEW Italian restaurant is to open in Rugby on Tuesday with the creation of 15 jobs.
Prezzo is opening in Regent Street on the site of the former Il Bertorelli restaurant.
The company has spent the past eight weeks redeveloping the site and invested £500,000.
The restaurant will be managed by Monika Szymborska.
It will specialise in popular and innovative Italian food, including pizza, pasta, grills and light options, as well as a choice of exclusive pizzas created by celebrity chef Aldo Zilli. The restaurant also has a children’s menu.
Monika said: “I am confident that Prezzo will prove popular with people of all ages and be a good addition to Rugby’s social scene.
“The restaurant will serve the highest quality food in comfortable and stylish surroundings.”
The restaurant is wheelchair accessible and has a specially adapted toilet for people with disabilities.
It will be open from 12 noon until 11pm throughout the week.


text:
Search results for term Boris Ocić
Samsung achieved a breakthrough in 5G data speeds using E-UTRAN New Radio Dual Connectivity (EN-DC).
Intel announced it will fight a US court verdict ordering it to pay nearly $2.2 billion to patent holding company VLSI Technology for alleged infringement of certain chip technology.
Shipments of traditional PCs in EMEA region will total 96.4 million in 2021, a 16.0% YoY growth, according to IDC.
The GSMA has urged the European Commission to expand the scope of a draft directive on cutting the cost of deploying broadband networks.
Nokia announced the launch of its DelOps initiative, a new and innovative approach to managing the complexity of 5G core software delivery and operations.
Almost 1.6 million Facebook users in the US state of Illinois will receive a payment from the tech giant.
BT Group announced the upcoming retirement of their chairman Jan du Plessis.
The global market for technical consumer goods (excluding North America) displayed resilience to COVID-19 pandemic with a value growth of +2 percent in the full year, according to GfK.
Siemens Mobility will sign a contract in the Netherlands with the joint venture RiVier (NS, HTM and RET) to develop a countrywide, intelligent Mobility as a Service (MaaS) platform.
4Q20 performance is an indicator that the transformation efforts are beginning to show results, Telekom Italia said in a financial report.
Strategy Analytics forecasts total global Bluetooth headset sales volume of over 300 million units in 2020.
Global deployments of commercial 5G networks grew threefold in the past year.
Deutsche Telekom broke new ground in the 2020 financial year.
Telefónica reported a net income of €1,582 million in 2020, 38.5% up vs. the previous year.
UK consumer advocacy group, named "Which?", filed a lawsuit against Qualcomm.
Rajeev Suri, former Nokia boss, was appointed as CEO of satellite communications provider Inmarsat.
The European Commission proposed extending and improving regulation allowing citizens to roam without incurring additional charges when travelling in the bloc.
Australia watered down rules covering payments for news content by web giants.
Opening this year’s MWC Shanghai, GSMA director general Mats Granryd reminded the mobile industry of its responsibilities.
Global sales of smartphones to end users declined 5.4% in the fourth quarter of 2020, according to Gartner.
Moscow’s mobile internet is one of the most affordable amongst the world’s megacities.
Huawei unveiled its flagship foldable smartphone for the Chinese market, the Mate X2.
Ryan Ding, president of Huawei’s Carrier Business Group, claims that the company has built more than half of the 140 commercial 5G networks deployed in 59 countries so far.
Hewlett Packard Enterprise announced it is accelerating space exploration and increasing self-sufficiency for astronauts by enabling real-time data processing with advanced commercial edge computing in space for the first time.
Canada will follow in the footsteps of Australia by introducing legislation requiring Facebook to pay for news content from local publishers.
Deutsche Telekom announced plans to test standalone (SA) 5G using an antenna site in Garching, a town just outside Munich.
A1 Austria has selected Nokia to provide 5G coverage across the country in a multi-year contract.
Facebook blocked publishers and users in Australia from viewing and sharing news on its site.
Nokia and telecom operator Elisa announced they will partner in a joint go-to-market alliance to drive industrial-grade private mobile network deployment.
Satellite service provider Intelsat asked a judge to approve a financial restructuring proposal.
IBM has renewed a contract with the U.S. Army to continue providing a full portfolio of IT management services to the U.S. Army Materiel Command Logistics Data Analysis Center (LDAC).
Borje Ekholm, Ericsson CEO, is concerned about the lack of incentive for operators in Europe to build 5G infrastructure.
Intel’s made official CEO transition as Pat Gelsinger became the company’s eighth chief executive officer in its history.
US tech companies reportedly opposed a $40 billion move by Nvidia to acquire UK-based chip design company Arm.
Microsoft announced Viva, their first employee experience platform.
Moscow has been selected as one of the pilot regions to implement the global policy roadmap for the responsible use of digital technologies.
As Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg mentioned on the earnings call, one common piece of feedback we hear is that people don’t want political content to take over their News Feed.
Thanks to improved software for the Vivalytic analysis device, the Bosch rapid coronavirus test, which uses polymerase chain reactions (PCR), now delivers its results even faster.
Nokia and Vodafone have announced the successful trial of a new Passive Optical Network (PON) technology capable of delivering speeds up to 100 gigabits per second (Gb/s) on a single wavelength 10 times faster than the most advanced networks available today.
US chip companies warned on key technologies including 5G and 6G was at risk if the government failed to make significant investment in manufacturing and research.
The number of international roaming subscribers dropped by 73% to 243 million globally in 2020; caused by travel restrictions arising from the COVID-19 pandemic, according to Juniper Research.
European institute CEA-Leti announced the launch of a EU 6G research project.
Margrethe Vestager European Commission executive vice president and competition commissoner, reportedly weighed into debate over privacy changes in the works from Apple.
Huawei founder and CEO Ren Zhengfei urged the new US administration to adopt a more open policy towards Chinese companies.
As remote working and e-learning continues worldwide, demand for Notebook PCs was at its highest ever in 4Q20, driving 54% year-on-year growth for notebook shipments, according to Strategy Analytics.
Apple remained the No. 1 semiconductor chip buyer in 2020, representing 11.9% of the total worldwide market, according to preliminary results from Gartner.
Nokia has achieved a major network capacity milestone with its long-standing partner Elisa while preparing the operator’s network for the future.
Xiaomi announced the global launch of its latest flagship smartphone, the Mi 11.
TIM has signed a Memorandum of Understanding together with Deutsche Telekom, Orange, Telefónica and Vodafone Group, to promote Open RAN technology for the implementation of next-generation mobile networks.
The European Commission might reprimand 24 EU member states for failing to transfer its Electronic Communications Code into laws by its 21 December 2020 deadline.
Ericsson Consumer & IndustryLab reports that dematerialized enterprises expect to leverage cloud and mobile technology to become more productive and sustainable by 2030.
In the 2020 business year, the Bosch Group achieved a positive result despite the effects of the coronavirus crisis and the decline in automotive production.
Cellnex continued an acquisition spree with a deal to buy Altice Europe’s tower unit Hivory for €5.2 billion.
Nokia CEO Pekka Lundmark pointed to growth in sales of its radio access products in Q4, but has also reiterated warnings to investors to expect a challenging 2021 as it implements a sweeping turnaround strategy.
Siemens has started off fiscal 2021 with a strong first quarter.
Worldwide sales of smartphones to end users will total 1.5 billion units in 2021, a 11.4% growth year over year, according to Gartner.
Amazon founder Jeff Bezos will step down from his role as CEO later this year.
Xiaomi initiated legal action against two US government departments seeking to overturn a ban on local investors owning shares in the Chinese device maker.
EU regulators face unhappy calls for a regulatory revamp in the region, moving to policies which allow cost-effective deployment of 5G, drive development of the digital economy and cut inequality in access to technology.
China’s overall smartphone sales declined 17% on a yearly basis in 2020, the sharpest decline in the last three years, according to Counterpoint Research.
Qualcomm announced its plan to open a new 5G research and development center in France to work on the future evolution of 5G and beyond.
Ericsson recorded a 60 percent year-on-year jump in net profit in the fourth quarter to SEK7.2 billion ($864 million).
Orange has joined a group of companies who have unveiled plans to create a digital health ecosystem across Europe.
Siemens Smart Infrastructure released its new public fast charger Sicharge D for the IEC markets.
IBM announced the appointment of Martin Schroeter as CEO of the independent company that will be created following the separation of IBM's Managed Infrastructure Services business ("NewCo").
Samsung’s mobile business had lower profit and revenue in the last quarter of 2020, due to lower demand in the wake of widening COVID-19 restrictions.
Samsung and Deutsche Telekom successfully completed the first 5G Standalone (SA) trial in the Czech Republic.
Apple posted financial results for its fiscal 2021 first quarter with all-time record revenue of $111.4 billion, up 21 percent year over year.
Moscow residents and visitors linked up to the city Wi-Fi network more than 130 million times in 2020.
Croatian companies Montelektro and 8Sigma delivered solution KegTNT (Keg Track&Trace) to a brewery in Addis Ababa.
The total number of QR code payment users will exceed 2.2 billion in 2025, up from 1.5 billion in 2020; equating to 29% of all mobile phone users across the world in 2025, according to Juniper Research.
The REINDEER project is a 5G Public-Private Partnership project and will receive EU funding as part of the EU’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation program.
The Europe, Middle East, and Africa (EMEA) traditional PC market posted strong growth in 4Q20 (16.6% YoY) and totaled 24.1 million units, according to IDC.
Worldwide IT spending is projected to total $3.9 trillion in 2021, an increase of 6.2% from 2020, according to Gartner.
Before the end of the year, Deutsche Telekom and Telefónica/o2 aim to overcome several hundred gray spots in 4G network coverage for their customers.
Google threatened to pull its search engine from Australia if the nation passes a law requiring the company to negotiate payment terms with local publishers to access their content.
Telstra, in collaboration with Ericsson and Qualcomm, announced the successful completion of a new 5G maximum download speed record on a commercial network of 5Gbps for a single user.
MediaTek overtook Qualcomm as the largest supplier of smartphone system-on-chips to China during 2020.
Two largest operators in China, China Mobile and China Telecom, ended 2020 with a combined 251.5 million 5G subscribers.
The COVID-19 pandemic helped fuel a record increase in health and fitness app spending in Europe during 2020, according to Sensor Tower data.
IBM posted mixed results for the fourth quarter, with profits ahead of estimates but revenue coming in short amid continued pressures from global economy.
Worldwide end-user spending on public cloud services is forecast to grow 18.4% in 2021 to total $304.9 billion, up from $257.5 billion in 2020, according to Gartner.
Operators in Sweden detailed plans for widespread 5G rollouts, after auctions of suitable spectrum were closed following a single day of bidding.
Qualcomm unveiled the Snapdragon 870 platform, renewing its focus on the mobile gaming market.
Sweden’s communications regulator began its delayed auction of 5G-suitable frequencies.
Telefonica Deutschland plans to up its use of open RAN in the country.
The US government targeted Huawei with additional trade restrictions.
Google Cloud and Nokia signed a deal with to jointly develop 5G core and edge products for operators and enterprise.
Steve Rai, BlackBerry financial chief, confirmed press reports stating the fallen handset giant had sold several patents covering mobile technology to Huawei.
A US sale of C-Band spectrum (3.7GHz to 4.2GHz) closed its first phase.
Samsung introduced its latest 108-megapixel mobile image sensor, ISOCELL HM3.
China found itself again in US crosshairs after Secretary of Commerce Wilbur Ross issued an interim rule restricting purchases of network technology and software from several countries.
True wireless stereo hearables and smartwatches continued to shore up the wearables market in 2020, according to Counterpoint Research.
Ericsson and Nokia made multi-billion dollar deals signed with T-Mobile US to continue expansion of its 5G network.
Telefónica agreed to sell its subsidiary Telxius Telecom to American Tower Corporation for the sale of its telecommunications towers division in Europe and in Latin America.
Intel announced that its board of directors has appointed Pat Gelsinger as its new chief executive officer, effective February 15.
IBM scientists and researchers received 9,130 U.S. patents in 2020, the most of any company, marking 28 consecutive years of their patent leadership.
Huawei filed legal action against a decision allowing Sweden to resume its 5G auction process.
Sweden-based operator group Tele2 tapped Nokia to provide a standalone (SA) 5G core network for its home market ahead of the country’s spectrum auction.


text:
The 12th Gen ('Alder Lake') Intel Core processor family includes 60 variants, starting with six unlocked desktop processors.
The Free Software Foundation has described Windows 11, the new avatar of Microsoft's desktop operating system that was launched on 6 October, as taking "important steps in the wrong direction when it comes to user freedom".
Microsoft has released Windows 11, with the company's chief product officer for Windows + Devices, Panos Panay, describing it as the start of a new era for the PC.
Lenovo ANZ today unveils the ThinkBook business laptop portfolio preloaded with Windows 11.
Dynabook, which the world knew as Toshiba's computing division for 35 years, has also announced it will have laptops pre-loaded with Windows 11 "in Q4," while the current Windows 10 lineup is naturally eligible for a free upgrade from Microsoft.
One of the things hidden in plain sight in Microsoft's announcement that Windows 11 is coming on October 5 is that Android apps won't be there at launch, but will come "in the coming months", which likely means some time in 2022.
With the official rollout date for Windows 11 due on October 5, which we're presuming means October 6 for Australians, Dell Technologies has been quick off the mark to let its current and future customers know about upgrades to, and PCs pre-installed with, Windows 11.
The free Windows 11 upgrade to PCs that qualify starts rolling out on October 5, which is the same date new PCs with Windows 11 pre-loaded will become available for purchase, heralding a new era for Microsoft as it fights Apple and Google for computing supremacy.
Financial service provider The Guild Group has resumed its services after a four-year hiatus to implement SD-WAN and introduce cloud-based communication services to improve collaboration among its staff.
Available from 2 August 2021, Microsoft 365 is Windows 10 – and later this year Windows 11 – running in Microsoft's cloud and accessible via personal and corporate devices.
Intel's Ultrabook concept wanted its PCs to be as thin and light as they are today, while sporting up to 13 hours of battery life and the powerful performance today's processors are capable of, coupled with fast storage, Thunderbolt 4 and USB 4, a QHD screen and more, and Lenovo's Slim 7i Carbon lives up to the promise.
OPINION: Microsoft has now BLOCKED ALL PCs without right CPU from even joining the Windows 11 Insider - here'a petition you can sign to ask Microsoft to reconsider
A Change.org petition has been set up asking Microsoft to allow more CPUs to run Windows 11, seeing as the 8th-generation Core i-Series processors and up are compatible, even though woefully underpowered select Atom, Celeron and Intel Pentium Gold and Silver processors are also on the list!
The week of Monday 28 June, 2021, is when those who are registered for Windows Insider Program can freely and legally download the first Windows 11 Insider Preview build - here's what you need to do.
Together, Intel and Microsoft are delivering people’s "favourite mobile apps" to PCs with Intel Bridge Technology, as announced at the Windows 11 launch this morning.
If you're a fan of Windows, Microsoft's new Windows 11 has introduced a smooth new interface, better touch controls, haptic pen feedback, faster background updates, Android apps and more, and it's coming later this year as a free upgrade to Windows 10.
I purchased a NOVOO USB C Hub 8 in 1 USB-C Dock back in 2020 for my Dell XPS-15 when[…]
Definitely vital to check that whatever USB-C multi-port / multifunction hub/adapter you get, if you are buying for Windows OS,[…]
Hi Bob,Yes, it looks like $89 is the best price. https://www.staticice.com.a...Not sure how to answer whether that price is expensive[…]
I was only able to find one entry for an Australian retailer selling this device. Cost was $89. Personally I[…]
Thanks David. It is unfortunate that programming has become enslaved to really bad languages and programmers are forced to work[…]


text:
Canada Beef highlights the “Power of the Brand” and brand partners in the third Annual Forum
Toronto, ON (September 22, 2014) – The third Canada Beef Annual Forum and AGM was held September 18-19, in Toronto, and was well attended by over 175 industry partners and stakeholders.
The theme for this year’s Forum was The Power of the Brand – Building Loyal Partnerships and Thursday’s Forum kicked off with a brand discussion by Mark Cohon, Commissioner, Canadian Football League and George Cohon, Founder, McDonald’s Restaurants of Canada Ltd., moderated by Matt Maychak of the CFL. Other insight came from representatives from all corners of the beef industry, including Cargill, Costco, Reinhart Foodservice, the Beef Cattle Research Council and more.
“Our Annual Forum this year really allowed Canada Beef to showcase the important work we’ve done over the past year with our brand identity and partnerships, as well as bring together a diverse group of speakers to highlight the importance of a strong brand and loyal partnerships across different industries,” said Rob Meijer, president, Canada Beef Inc.
Friday, September 19 was the Annual General Meeting which included year-in-review presentations from the Board of Directors and executive staff, and board elections.
An election was held for two seats representing the beef industry (ie. packers and processors) on the Canada Beef board of directors, from three nominees. Canada Beef is happy to announce that Mike Kennedy and Arthur Batista will return to the board of directors to represent industry.
Five other board seats were up for re-election this year and the following directors were acclaimed to their board seats, representing their respective organizations:
• John Schooten, Alberta
• Jack Hextall, Saskatchewan
• Arden Schneckenburger, Ontario
• Jim Fraser, Nova Scotia
• John MacDonald, Prince Edward Island
• Dwight Greer, Canadian Association of Importers and Exporters
At the board meeting immediately following the AGM on Friday afternoon, key executive positions were elected. For the 2014-2015 year, Saskatchewan beef producer Jack Hextall will serve as Chair of the Board and Manitoba producer Trevor Atchison will join the executive committee as Vice Chair. Lonnie Lake will serve as Chair of the Finance committee this year, and Arden Schneckenburger will chair the Governance committee. Mike Kennedy was welcomed back to the executive committee to again chair the Planning and Priorities committee and Arthur Batista will serve as chair of the Foreign Trade Advisory committee.
Canada Beef would like to recognize Chuck MacLean of Alberta for his two years of leadership as Chair, and Terry Prescott for representing Nova Scotia beef producers on the board for the past two years.
The Annual Report and meeting proceedings will be available online and by email on request.
Canada Beef is the cattle producer-funded and run organization responsible for domestic and international beef and veal market development. It has offices in Canada, Mexico, Japan, Hong Kong, China and Taiwan. Canada Beef works to foster loyalty to the Canadian beef brand and build strong relationships with trade customers and partners. These efforts increase demand for Canadian beef and the value producers receive for their cattle.
For more information, please contact:
VP, Corporate Affairs and Operations, Canada Beef


text:
Belgium has been ordered by European authorities to recover €700m (£524m; $763m) from 35 multinational companies after giving them illegal tax breaks.
Under a tax scheme in place since 2005, some firms could reduce taxable profits in Belgium by up to 90%.
Companies that were not part of global groups could not claim the same benefits, which Europe`s Competition Commission said "distorts competition".
European firms were the main beneficiaries, according to the EU.
Commissioner Margrethe Vestager, in charge of competition policy, said: "Belgium has given a select number of multinationals substantial tax advantages that break EU state aid rules. It distorts competition on the merits by putting smaller competitors who are not multinational on an unequal footing.
The so-called excess profit scheme has been on hold since 2015, when the EU announced its investigation.
The Commission did not mention any firms by name, but media reports said they included brewer AB Inbev and British American Tobacco.
- Prada seeks younger customers in bid for growth
- Lotte vice chairman Lee In-won found dead
- German business confidence falls post-Brexit, says Ifo
- Tesla touts speed and driving range with new upgraded battery
- Stocks creep up amid Fed limbo, dollar dips leftright 22leftright 12leftright
- China Crinkles Aluminum Foil Makers
- Cisco to lay off about 14,000 employees: tech news site CRN leftright 22leftright
- UK to avoid recession and world economy to ‘stabilise’ as Brexit shock passes - but US poses biggest risk to global growth
- Fuel prices push up UK inflation rate to 0.6%
- Humidity 47%
- Winds 0 kph


text:
However, recent studies on environmental impacts of textile and apparel production show that textile industry is the second largest polluting sector after oil, and recycling has the potential to reduce 50-65 percent of the industrial production waste.
Trash to Trend, an Estonia-based company that uses recycling design to transform the textile manufacturing industry, in collaboration with Beximco, the biggest fabric and garment producer in Bangladesh, has came up with a solution for radical reduction of textile waste in mass production by introducing upcycled garment collection.
Speaking to fibre2fashion, founder of Trash to Trend, Reet Aus said, “Waste is definitely one of the central issues as waste is ‘work in vain’. Growing or producing and gathering of the textile raw-materials from all over the world; usage of chemicals (pesticides, dyes, etc) and water as well as the work and energy put into the manufacturing of textile and garments are all thrown away and at the same time for new garment, virgin materials are exploited again.”
“The exploitative nature of linear industrious systems cries for better solutions. In the light of growing resource scarcity, upcycling has become not only interesting but important to develop improvements for the system,” she informs.
Talking about the inspiration behind introducing upcycled garment line, she says, “When I realized the impacts of clothing and textile industry on environment, I could not agree with it and started figuring other ways. There are many options for reducing environmental impact but after I found upcycling as a method I have been mostly working with that mainly because upcycling solves many problems and has the biggest influence.”
According to Markus Vihma, head of environment and sustainability at Trash to Trend, wasteful, unnecessary consumption and industrial mass-production degrade the environment. “The textile industry is driven by our consumption and pushed by competition, which results in massive waste production.”
“The faults of the system are very apparent and recycling initiatives are capable to ease that vicious cycle. An upcycled or recycled apparel is just way cooler than virgin apparel if the outcome is the same,” he concludes.
Fibre2fashion News Desk - India
Textiles | On 29th Jun 2017
Nan Ya Plastics Corporation, America, a US synthetic fibre producer,...
Textiles | On 29th Jun 2017
By 2020, textile technologies will be highly advanced not only with...
Apparel/Garments | On 29th Jun 2017
American online retail giant Amazon intends to keep investing and...
‘It is going to take some time for Indian buyers to get accustomed to...
We are using Facebook and Instagram to promote ourselves
Fashion industry likely to remain labour-intensive in coming years
Schlegel und Partner
Silke Brand-Kirsch, executive partner of Schlegel und Partner, a leading...
Swerea IVF AB
Marten Alkhagen, Senior Scientist - Nonwoven and Technical Textiles of...
Biovation II LLC
Kerem Durdag, CEO, Biovation II LLC, provides an insight into future...
Apparel/Garments | On 28th Jun 2017


text:
Arla Foods Ingredients saves 60,000 tonnes of CO2 using biogas
The company is also investing in its dry blend lactose production capacity, helping infant formula manufacturers cut their emissions by as much as 25%.
The two initiatives are part of Green Ambition 2050 – the sustainability strategy of parent company Arla Foods amba, which aims to achieve carbon neutrality by 2050.
The companies have received methane from a biogas plant since 2019. The biomass used primarily comprises manure from Arla farms, as well as production waste.
At each of Arla Foods Ingredients’ two largest production plants, two 4,000 horsepower biogas engines convert methane into over 50 GWh of electricity each year – equivalent to the amount used by 11,600 households.
In 2019, CO2 emissions from the two plants totalled 105,000 tonnes. Without using biogas, they would have emitted 167,000 – a reduction of 62,000 tonnes. The company expects a similar saving for 2020, despite increased production.
Now, greener sources, such as biogas, supply more than 30% of the energy needs of the company’s production facilities in Denmark.
“Sustainability is part of our DNA,” said Henrik Andersen, CEO at Arla Foods Ingredients. “The company has always been an example of a circular economy because we convert whey, which used to be considered waste, into high-value food and nutrition products.
“Now, we’re taking new steps to reduce our carbon footprint and help protect the environment for future generations.
“Reducing our use of fossil fuels and investing in greener energy sources such as biogas is an essential element of this ambition.”


text:
Downtown Kelowna’s Bernard Avenue will be taken over by classic cars this weekend.
The Show N Shine on Bernard takes place Saturday, 11 a.m. to 4 p.m., featuring more than 50 classic cars, hot rods and collectibles that will be on display along Bernard Ave. from The Sails to St. Paul.
A number of street vendors will also be set up.
“Show N Shine on Bernard is a free, family-friendly event for auto enthusiasts of all ages,” said a news release from organizing group Downtown Kelowna Association.
Voting for winning vehicles starts at 11 a.m. Each vehicle will display a dash card with a unique QR code, that when scanned, will take the voter to the Show N Shine on Bernard Voter’s contest page.
Each vote will count as an entry for the Show N Shine voter’s contest, in which three prize packs are up for grabs. The only way to vote and to be entered into the contest is to attend the event.
Show N Shine “best of” awards and winners of the Show N Shine prize packages will be announced on Wednesday online.
“Adding Show N Shine on Bernard to our August activities is a fabulous new event for Downtown.” says Mark Burley, executive director of the DKA.
“With Meet me On Bernard in operation for the summer, August needed something fresh and new. Adding classic performance vehicles, hot rods, and classic cars to Bernard Avenue for a day will add to the vibrancy of Meet me On Bernard and Downtown Kelowna.”


text:
Gillette head credits DEI efforts with company turnaround
By: Grant Welker
Gillette and its corporate siblings were struggling financially for the better part of a decade, hurt by a trend of men sporting beards — and thus not needing to shave often — and falling behind on innovation.
Gary Coombe, the CEO for grooming for Procter & Gamble (NYSE: PG) and the de facto head of Gillette, said on Tuesday that a more diverse and inclusive team at the South Boston-based razor giant has helped it reverse course.
“If you want to field the best team, you’ve got to pick from the whole squad,” Coombe said as the latest guest on the New England Council’s Inside the Corner Office virtual event series. “There’s so much talent out there that we weren’t accessing.”
Coombe said that Gillette has worked to overcome other challenges as well, from the popular unshaven look to a supply chain upheaval that is unlike anything he’s seen in his 36 years in the industry.
P&G has two manufacturing plants in Shanghai, the massive Chinese city that’s been under strict lockdown for weeks to limit the spread of coronavirus. Coombe said the company’s been able to work around that thanks to other plants spread across the world.
Then there’s the labor shortage, which Coombe said has made for a constant struggle to find workers for Gillette as well as sibling P&G brands like Venus and Braun.
“Finding talent with the right skills is a huge challenge,” said Coombe, who was named to the role in 2019. “It’s true in Boston, it’s true across the U.S., and it’s true across the world.”
The South Boston plant, which remains a manufacturing and R&D site, along with a plant in Andover are constantly struggling to find workers who are able to work with sophisticated technology and machinery, Coombe said. Partnerships with educational institutions, including Harvard, MIT and the Benjamin Franklin Institute of Technology help, he said.
“Unfortunately, you can’t just put a little poster in the window saying ‘We’re hiring,’” he said. “It’s not that simple anymore.”
Coombe, who grew up in London, has a long history with P&G dating to his time as a sales representative for the company’s soap and detergents lines in Britain’s East Midlands area starting in 1986. That history gives him a deep understanding of the company culture, a mutual trust with colleagues and a close relationship with the board, he said. But it can also make it harder to institute change, which he said was needed with the lagging Gillette brand.
“A transformation was required, and it sometimes can be harder to affect major change when you’ve been part of the system for so many years,” he said.
P&G’s grooming division was on a long and steady decline in sales before making a rebound last year. Net sales in 2021 of $6.4 billion for the unit represented its first year-over-year sales increase in the past decade. Gillette’s performance is not broken out separately.
In 2020, Gillette launched a new product line aimed at bearded customers called King C. Gillette, named after the company’s founder from more than a century ago. The Venus brand was overhauled two years earlier.
“Rather than keeping our fingers crossed and hoping beards went out of fashion, we thought, well, people need to groom beards. People who have beards still shave, right?” said Coombe, who is clean-shaven and sports a closely shaved head.
Decision-making for Gillette has also been less centralized to Boston. Gillette is in every country that it can legally operate in, Coombe said, and is the market leader in each one of those except for Japan.
“It’s a global business and it was somewhat hamstrung,” Coombe said of what he called a centralized and “somewhat autocratic” company.
Gillette is also emphasizing environmental-friendly practices, Coombe said. The company has pledged to be so-called net zero by 2040, meaning it would use renewable energy and take other steps so that the company has no greenhouse gas footprint. Each of Gillette’s plants runs entirely on renewable energy, and plastic packaging has been replaced with recyclable cardboard.
That latest step, Coombe said, is the equivalent of 90 million plastic water bottles annually.
“When you run a company that’s been around for 120 years, that history also has you think about the next 120 years,” he said. “We don’t want to just be around for the next 10 or 15. We’ve done 120. For sure, we want to do another 120.”


text:
The Internet is a mainstream medium for U.S. Hispanics, many of whom actively seek ads to find out about new products.
Depending on the format, Hispanic Internet users are more likely to respond to online ads than white or African-American Internet users, according to a survey for ARAnet conducted by Opinion Research Corp. in March 2010.
About 19 percent of Hispanic Web users said they were “very likely” to respond to a banner ad, compared with 14 percent of African-American Internet users and 5 percent of white Internet users.
E-mail offers are also more appealing to Hispanics than to whites or African-Americans, ARAnet found. Some 23 percent of Hispanic respondents said they were “very likely” to respond to e-mail offers, while 16 percent of African-American respondents and 12 percent of white respondents put themselves in the same category.
Pop-up ads were less enticing: Just 12 percent of Hispanic and African-American Internet users said they were “very likely” to respond to them, compared with 4 percent of white Internet users.
By 2014, eMarketer expects 70 percent of the Hispanic population will be online, up from almost 60 percent in 2010. Thanks to a robust rate of growth within this general population, the online audience will grow by nearly 10 million people between 2010 and 2014, to 39.2 million.


text:
BENGALURU/CHENNAI (Reuters) -India’s ITC reported a smaller-than-expected rise in its second-quarter profit on Thursday, as the consumer goods major grappled with stiff competition from smaller rivals and higher prices of some commodities.
Smaller operators took advantage of a drop in prices of some raw materials used in the consumer goods sector including milk, barley and tea, to better compete with deeper-pocketed giants such as ITC and Hindustan Unilever.
“When raw material prices are falling, it becomes a level playing field for both unorganised and organised competition,” said Shirish Pardeshi, research analyst at Centrum Broking.
ITC, home to household brands such as Aashirvaad, Bingo and Yippie, said its biscuits, snacks, noodles and soaps businesses faced increasing competition, including from regional players.
Dove-soapmaker Hindustan Unilever said earlier in the day it lost some market share in its mass segment – comprising lower-priced products – due to competition.
However, prices of certain commodities such as wheat and sugar are still high, which pushed up ITC’s total expenses 3% to 120.87 billion rupees for the three months ended Sept. 30.
The tobacco-to-hotels conglomerate’s profit still rose 10% to 49.27 billion rupees ($592.81 million), but missed analysts’ average estimate of 49.54 billion rupees, according to data from LSEG.
Revenue from operations rose 3% to 177.05 billion rupees, helped by a 10% surge in its cigarettes business.
ITC’s shares, which had slipped nearly 2% in the September quarter, closed down 0.3% ahead of results.
Other consumer goods majors Nestle India and Hindustan Unilever eased past quarterly earnings estimates earlier on Thursday, as city dwellers spent more on affordable pick-me-ups like cookies and coffee.
($1 = 83.1121 Indian rupees)
(Reporting by Navamya Ganesh Acharya and Varun Vyas in Bengaluru and Praveen Paramasivam in Chennai; Editing by Anil D’Silva and Shinjini Ganguli)


text:
C.H. Robinson Worldwide Inc. fell a penny short of expectations for its fourth quarter Tuesday as the global logistics company delivered 67 cents a share instead of the 68 cents analysts expected.
Fourth-quarter revenue was $2.57 billion, slightly less than Wall Street expectations of $2.63 billion.
For the year, however, earnings and revenue both increased 11.5 percent, and the company earned $431.6 million, or $2.62 per share, on revenue of $10.3 billion.
Robinson, based in Eden Prairie, is one of the world's largest third-party logistics companies. It provides worldwide freight transportation services to corporations, but does not own trucks, railroad cars, planes or ships. It leases transportation to meet customer needs. The company has about 37,000 corporate customers worldwide.
Because of its global reach, the company's performance is viewed as a harbinger of the general economy. While revenue from trucking expanded 5.5 percent in the fourth quarter, and the volume of truckloads shipped increased 7 percent, net margins were hurt by higher costs, including higher fuel costs, the company said.
"We're pleased with our double-digit growth in 2011, and our long-term track record of performance that demonstrates our ability to consistently execute, through all types of environments," CEO John Wiehoff said.
Some analysts agreed.
"Robinson's trucking revenue was in line with what I expected," said Matt Young, an analyst with Morningstar Inc. in Chicago. "And their trucking volume was good, up 7 percent year-to-year, which is in line with the rest of the industry.
"Where Robinson fell short was on the gross margin," Young said. "That's mainly because they didn't increase prices to their customers as fast as the cost of leasing transportation went up."
Over time that will even out, he said.
Analysts had not expressed much hope of an upside surprise before the earnings were announced. A solid majority had a "hold" rating on the stock, and the consensus earnings expectation had held steady for the entire quarter.
In a conference call with analysts, Wiehoff said that Robinson should be able to grow more rapidly in the near future than it is now. At present, supply and demand in shipping are well-balanced, he said. Robinson's business model is designed to profit the most from periods when the transportation market is disrupted because supply and demand are out of balance.
Young agreed. Such disruptions between supply and demand are often caused by a rising economy, which suggests that Robinson will do better as the nation's economy improves, he said.
"Usually when the economy improves, demand for transportation improves because companies restock their inventories," Young said. "I expect Robinson to have decent volume growth in shipping in the next year, maybe more than the trucking industry as a whole, if they can grab more market share."
While FedEx and UPS both reported strong gains in holiday shipping -- something Robinson did not -- Young said they serve a different type of customer. Robinson is shipping all types of goods, while FedEx and UPS are shipping "express" packages that pay a premium for quick delivery, he said.
Wiehoff said Robinson today has only a fraction of the estimated $1 trillion spent annually on freight transportation in the United States.
"We feel like there's a lot of market share left to get," Wiehoff said, adding that the company, which was founded n 1905, considers surpassing $10 billion in annual sales a major milestone. When Robinson went public in 1997, its annual revenue was $1.8 billion.
"Our goal is a long-term average growth rate of 15 percent for net revenue, operating income, and diluted earnings per share," Wiehoff said.
Robinson shares closed at $68.84, down 91 cents, or 1.34 percent. It reported earnings after the markets closed.
Steve Alexander • 612-673-4553


text:
Tag: price prediction
Bitcoin ‘halving’ rally will eclipse Litecoin’s 300% increase
May 12, 2019
The price of Litecoin surged 300% in six months, preceding the upcoming mining reward 'halving' in August. Will Bitcoin be next? According to CoinDesk data...
FRAUD ALERT: Goxtrade caught using stolen photos for staff pics
DUMP OR FAT FINGER? $38.6 million Bitcoin sale sends prices tumbling
BITCOIN ETF: Conference ‘coincidence’ sparks approval rumours
THE PERFECT STORM: Three factors to consider before buying Bitcoin in...
700K Bitcoins at stake as Coinbase and Fidelity compete for Xapo...
‘Insane’ Bitcoin trading volume could signal unprecedented rally
© Micky Media Pty Ltd
Edit with Live CSS


text:
How to bring your traditional brand into the digital world
In a digital world, how can you make your brand stand out online? As traditional advertising fades away, many established brands are turning to social media in order to reach their target market. Daniel Burstein, Director of Editorial Content, MarketingSherpa, sat down with Peter Stringer, Vice President of Digital Media, Boston Celtics, at the MarketingSherpa Media Center at DMA's &THEN 2015, to discuss how to evolve your brand marketing strategy and go digital. "[Social media] platforms have become really successful channels for us, and that's primarily how we market the team now. You don't see a lot of print advertising from basketball teams anymore. That avenue has really died out, and teams are spending their time understanding how to monetize and market their team on Facebook and all these different platforms. That's how we're reaching our audience today," Peter said.


text:
Amazon faced skepticism from some privacy advocates and members of Congress last year when it introduced its first kid-oriented voice assistant, along with brightly colored models of its Echo Dot speaker designed for children.
Now those advocates say the kids’ version of Amazon’s Alexa won’t forget what children tell it, even after parents try to delete the conversations. For that and other alleged privacy flaws they found while testing the service, they’re now asking the Federal Trade Commission on Thursday to investigate whether it violates children’s privacy laws.
“These are children talking in their own homes about anything and everything,” said Josh Golin, who directs the Campaign for a Commercial Free Childhood. “Why is Amazon keeping these voice recordings?”
A coalition of groups led by Golin’s organization and Georgetown University’s Institute for Public Representation is filing a formal complaint with the FTC alleging that Amazon is violating the federal Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act, known as COPPA, by holding onto a child’s personal information longer than is reasonably necessary.
Amazon said in a statement that its Echo Dot Kids Edition is compliant with COPPA.
In one example the advocates captured on video, a child asks the device to remember some personal information, including her walnut allergy.
An adult later tries to delete all that information, which includes the voice recordings and written transcripts associated with them. But then, when the child asks what Alexa remembers, it still recalls that she’s allergic to walnuts.
It’s Unclear Whether FTC Will Take up the Complaint
“This suggests that Amazon has designed the Echo Dot Kids Edition so that it can never forget what the child has said to it,” the complaint says.
It also says that about 85% of the more than 2,000 games, quizzes and other Alexa “skills” aimed at kids did not have privacy policies posted. Such skills are generally produced by independent software developers or other third parties, not Amazon.
It’s unclear whether the FTC will take up the complaint, since its investigations are rarely public. But the agency has been enforcing children’s privacy rules more seriously in the past year, said Allison Fitzpatrick, a lawyer who helps companies comply with COPPA requirements and was not involved in the complaint.
But Fitzpatrick said that, on their face, the new allegations against Amazon appear troubling. She said the FTC provides an exemption that enables a business to collect a child’s voice recording without parental consent, but that’s only for a temporary and specific purpose — such as to perform an online search or fulfill a verbal command.


text:
At The Rémy Martin Pacesetter Dinner
The Rémy Martin Cognac announced the launch of its global campaign, One Life/Live Them®, a campaign which recognizes and celebrates individual’s multi-talents in October last year. Since then, the brand has selected and celebrated different individuals that embody the brand DNA. The dinner was held to celebrate the outgoing influencers Zainab Balogun, Kunle Glover and Falz, as well as welcome and introduce new influencers, Arese Ugwu, Japheth Omojuwa and Ali Baba.
The event which was hosted at the Rémy Martin XO Centaur Club gave a platform for different individuals to connect and be inspired by new influencers and other guests.
The campaign tagline, One Life/Live Them®, which assumes its grammatical error, identifies that today’s consumers are not defined by one talent or skill, but are multi-faceted and should be applauded for their many passions. It encourages consumers to explore and celebrate all their talents. It is a call to live richer, larger lives, to expand the horizon and seize all the wonderful opportunities that life can offer.
Pictures from The Rémy Martin Pacesetter Dinner


text:
In 1999, when the Australian pay-TV industry was less than four years old, Foxtel CEO Tom Mockridge made a prediction: a big, bold and — as it turned out — wildly incorrect prediction. Within 10 years, he said, pay-TV would be installed in three-quarters of Australian homes.
Yet by 2009 only 29% of Australian homes had pay-TV. Today, according to stockbroking firm CCZ Statton Equities, it’s at 28% — one of the lowest rates in the developed world.
Mockbridge’s over-optimism hasn’t stopped Richard Freudenstein, who replaced Kim Williams as CEO last year, from publicising his own lofty goals for the industry. In March, he announced an ambition to lift the take-up of pay-TV to 50% (though he didn’t apply a deadline to the target).
There's more to Crikey than you think.
Get more and save 50%.
None of the media analysts contacted by Crikey for this story believe this will happen — ever. They say despite News Limited’s bid to lift its stake in Foxtel from 25 to 50%, the take-up of traditional pay-TV has already peaked — and will soon start to decline.
“There is no indication whatsoever that pay-TV in its current form will grow to 50%,” said veteran telecommunications consultant Paul Budde. “No way.”
Even securing AFL broadcasting rights last year, at a cost of $530 million, hasn’t boosted customer numbers significantly, Foxtel sources told The Australian Financial Review last month. There’s also no sign the Olympics — to air on Foxtel over eight channels later this month — has led to a spike either.
“They want to paint a picture of a beautiful blue sky: we’re thundering along, people are joining us, we’re growing,” said media analyst Steve Allen. “But that’s marketing and spin. At the pricing model they have now they’re not likely to get much growth.”
Cost, Allen says, is the major reason why the Australian pay-TV penetration rate dwindles behind the US (90%) or UK (60%). Signing up to pay-TV here costs far more than the US or most of Europe.
Other factors have applied a handbrake on growth, according to Citi analyst Justin Diddams. Pay-TV, he says, has had the best take-up in countries where providers bundle it together with other telephony services such as broadband or mobile phone deals. In the UK, for example, BSkyB has given away free broadband to lift subscriber numbers. In Australia this hasn’t been possible because Telstra — which owns 50% of Foxtel — won’t allow the pay-TV provider to sell broadband connections.
Our tough anti-siphoning laws also haven’t helped either. Nor has the arrival of Freeview, which allows people to watch for free the type of content they used to have to pay for.
None of this bad news, it’s important to point out, has stopped Foxtel from making serious dough. Although relatively few Aussies are prepared to fork out for pay-TV, those who do are willing to pay a lot. Last year, the company increased full-year earnings by 15.5%, despite subscriber numbers only rising by around 18,000.
This business model, however, is on its last legs thanks to the arrival of Internet Protocol Television (IPTV) — a technology that streams TV and video services via the internet direct to computer, television set or game console. The industry is still in a nascent stage, but is expected to grow rapidly in the next decade with the proliferation of high-speed broadband.
“The traditional model of pay-TV is on the way out,” said Paul Budde. “People will always be interested in good content — movies and sport — but the format in which it’s currently delivered is a dying concept.”
Roger Colman, head of media at CCZ Statton Equities, agrees. According to his firm’s projections, next year will be the last year of subscriber growth for traditional subscription television. By 2017, he expects around a fifth of households to have satellite or cable pay-TV while IPTV will be approaching 50% penetration.
Chris Coughlan, research director at technology analyst firm Telsyte, says the growth of IPTV represents both an “opportunity and a threat” for Foxtel.
The opportunity: many more customers. The threat: many more competitors — including Fetch TV, Apple TV, Quickflix and, ironically, Telstra, which is taking on Foxtel with T-Box, which offers movies on demand and live sport.
“It’ll be a fine balancing act to package up the IPTV channels so they don’t cannibalise the existing plantium users — those who get all the services, not just bits and pieces,” said Coughlan. “They’ll have to be very clever.”
Steve Allen reckons Foxtel will have much lower profit margins in five years time. It will also have to spend big on original programming to maintain viewers (an outcome that would be a boon for the Australian entertainment industry).
Roger Colman is far more optimistic than his counterparts. Foxtel, he asserts confidently, will make more money in the IPTV era than it does now. “It’s a simple equation,” he said. “There are no real competitors of any import.”
Foxtel, Colman says, is expanding into IPTV far more aggressively than it’s making out and is already stiching up deals with major Hollywood studios for Australian IPTV rights.
Despite the widespread assumption that the internet leads to fragmentation, Colman says real-world experience shows that it also leads to monopolies. In the US, Amazon has around 80% of the online book market, Netflix owns 90% of the online DVD market, while iTunes has around 90% of digital music sales.
He expects Foxtel will achieve the same market dominance in Australia for IPTV and is telling his clients to bank on it.
Crikey approached Foxtel CEO Richard Freudenstein for comment but he was unavailable.


text:
BITCOIN TAKING A DIP
Bitcoin has taken a little bit of a dip over the alst 24 hours going down to $6,350. We need to hold the support level of $6,200 if we are going to see any upwards movement as the volume has hit it's lowest of the year. A break above the long term resistance of $6,800 should see the next run up.
GOLDMAN SACHS ANNOUNCES MULTI MILLION DOLLAR INVESTMENT IN CRYPTO
Goldman Sachs, on the heels of the Fidelity announcement has advised they will be investing $15 Million into BitGo, a fully regulated cryptocurrency custodian that securely purchases and stores digital assets on behalf of institutional investors.
130 COFFEE SHOPS IN EUROPE TO ACCEPT AND SELL CRYPTO
A “technology enabler” startup known as Cyclebit is aiming to get more people into crypto by allowing stores to be gateways for cryptocurrency by allowing crypto savvy customers to spend their crypto easily.
The idea has already started to gain traction – and Cyclebit is already working with businesses in Europe and South Korea. According to the print version of the Spanish business newspaper Expansión from 16 Oct 2018, the crypto payment technology is being rolled out in Nostrum – a network of 130 coffee shops throughout Spain – which has just started accepting and selling Bitcoin.
SOME MICROCAPS THAT COULD BE RISING
We looked at a few microcaps and small cap projects in the show, in particular:


text:
The Worst Selling Truck Nobody Wants to Buy
Another year came and went, and now, looking back, we’re able to see which pickup trucks had the better sales year, and which ones tanked out. It looks like some trucks performed as well, or not, as some expected them to.
The popular giants came out on top, once again, this year, and not surprisingly, the Nissan Titan dropped to the last place on the sales charts over at GoodCarBadCar. Whether you look at the year to date figures or the monthly sales, things looked bleak for Nissan. Here’s what the figures had to say for the 2019 year.
What did the sales figures look like for the Nissan Titan?
This report shows the Nissan Titan had the worst year for sales in 2019. Nissan only sold about 31,500 Titans, but in 2018, the figure was significantly higher at 50,459. Not only did its sales place it last with other pickups for the year, but it also puts them at number one for having declined the most in purchases from this year to the previous one.
Its other truck, the Nissan Frontier fared a bit better, but this truck also declined in sales from 2018, by selling about 7,000 fewer vehicles, landing it in the third spot for lowered sales percentages.
When you break these figures down to monthly sales, it doesn’t get much better. The first three months the Titan actually outsold the Canyon, but by April, it dropped to the last place in sales.
In September and October, the two ran neck and neck, but the Canyon pulled ahead for the rest of the year. The fourth-quarter sales from 2018 to 2019 dropped over half, giving them a 51% drop in purchases this year. The Titan just wasn’t popular in 2019.
Why didn’t the Nissan Titan appeal to buyers and will that change?
The Nissan Titan doesn’t offer what most other trucks do. It’s too expensive for what it is and lacks any personality that truck owners look for. This pickup currently has a 5.6-liter V8 engine running 394 lb-ft of torque.
While that’s decent power, it doesn’t seem to compete with the more popular pickups that run on at least, a 6.0-liter engine. As drive.com says, it’s likely that if someone purchases one of these, that they will resell it within one year of purchase.
It sounds like Nissan plans to make some much-needed changes to the Titan. The 2020 model should make the Titan more relevant to modern truck owners, once again, or, so they say. Only time will tell if that proves to be true or not, but Nissan should step up its game if it wants to compete with the likes of the Chevy Silverado and the GMC Sierra.
What pickups had a good year for sales?
TFL Truck shows who came out on top. The Ford F-Series had the most sales in 2019 with 896,526 purchases. When compared to 2018, Ford only declined by 1.41%.
For the fourth quarter sales, alone, Ford still led the pack with 233,952 purchases, which is pretty close to last year’s 230,312 Q4 sales. The second most popular spot is the Ram series of trucks with 633,694, which is up 18% from the previous year’s sales.
Coming in third, is another giant of the pickup market, the Silverado. This year saw 575,569 purchases, which is only down 10,000 sales from the previous year. Fourth-quarter purchases saw 163,311 sales, for the Silverado, which is just a few thousand more than 2018 Q4 figures.
Nissan needs a major revamping of the Titan in the coming years if it hopes to catch up to the likes of the sales giants, Ford, Ram, and Chevy. Otherwise, sales are likely to continue plummeting for the company.


text:
UKH reaction to Market Recovery Monitor
22 May 2020
Posted by: Chris Banks
Commenting on today’s release of the new Market Recovery Monitor, published by CGA and AlixPartners, Kate Nicholls, CEO of UKHospitality said:
“These new figures are a useful starting point as to the state of the hospitality sector as the country moved into lockdown, and paint a picture of a market that, in parts, was already under pressure. Our own data reveals that the sector experienced a sales decline of 21.3% in the first quarter of 2020. Hospitality was hit first, has been hit hardest and will take longer than most to recover.
“Our new #FAIR4Hospitality campaign calls on governments across Britain to invest in a fair and timely return for hospitality this summer, for the benefit of local communities, peoples’ jobs, national wellbeing and the economy. How the sector restarts and at what pace will vary dependent on type of business and government guidance, so these figures will be useful on an ongoing basis for all those invested and passionate about our sector.
“Hospitality is ready, with the right support, to play a leading role in the recovery, can help rebuild shattered consumer confidence and bring the nation back together safely over the coming months.”


text:
THE caravanning industry's peak body expressed "much excitement and
hope" after Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull announced his new Cabinet.
Caravan Industry Association of Australia chief executive Stuart Lamont
said he now welcomed the opportunity of working with ministers and their
departments with "positive dialogue" so the iconic Australian caravanning
and camping industry could continue flourishing.
"We look forward to liaising with Cabinet ministers in their new or
existing capacities to showcase the incredible story which is the
caravanning industry, and discussing how we can work closely with them to
achieve positive outcomes for both the industry and Australia more
broadly," he said.
Mr Lamont said the passing of Motor Vehicle Standards Act (MVSA) reforms
remained the most immediate and pressing issue.
"These have had an interrupted path through the Parliament and we now call
on the government to pass these important changes to the legislation so
that consumers can benefit from tougher compliance regimes and a level
playing field across imported and locally manufactured trailers, including
caravans," he explained.
'MVSA reforms will create new
opportunities for consumers'
"The changes announced in February this year, after much consultation, are
supported by the industry amid continued frustration at ongoing delays in
the legislative progress.
"The MVSA reforms will create new opportunities for consumers to benefit
from supporting industry businesses that are committed to doing the right
thing by their customers and within the law."
The industry generated $19.02 billion to the Australian economy annually,
much of which was in regional areas.
This created jobs and provided valuable inward capital for Australian
communities, Mr Lamont said.
"Importantly, it also provides many Australians with the opportunity to
get away and reconnect with themselves or loved ones in one of the safest
and most beautiful countries in the world," he continued.
"As an industry we have recently enjoyed strong results in manufacturing,
retailing and accommodation takings that are above the growth in the
economy in general as well as in other competitive industries.
"While this can be put down to a united industry working together towards
collective outcomes despite being diverse and geographically spread, we
have also needed to be nimble and embrace new opportunities to remain
"As such, the transformation of industry to meet consumer trends has been
an important driver in industry success.
"Even though the caravanning and camping industry is experiencing
confidence and certainty with regard to both industry investment and
consumer behaviour, it is now important that the government makes
decisions to drive the country and industry forward."
Mr Lamont thought the appointment of Michael McCormack as a
regionally-based minister in the capacity of Small Business was to be
welcomed "even if this is in the outer ministry".
"As an industry largely made up of SMEs, many of which are located in
regional Australia, we appreciate and applaud a minister who understands
the challenges of being a small business in the bush," he said.
The linking of local government and regional development through Senator
Fiona Nash was also seen as a positive for industry.
"Many industry businesses are frustrated at the inconsistencies of
regulatory enforcement that apply within local government," Mr Lamond
"Therefore, the opportunity of opening up new investment and encouraging a
better visitor experience in the regions is welcomed.
"As such, we are hopeful the new ministry structure will revive previously
shelved or stagnated projects."
Mr Lamont believed the elevation and naming of tourism into the Trade and
Investment portfolio supported by an assistant minister was "heartening"
and recognised the sector as an important contributor to the Australian
"With the caravanning and camping industry making up 17 percent of
commercial accommodation nights and 10 percent of visitor expenditure ‒
including having the highest average international spend across the sector
due to length of stay ‒ it is important that the sector's share of voice
is maintained within the Cabinet," he said.
"Furthermore, having the tourism and trade portfolios integrated allows us
to continue to explore export opportunities through one ministry, both in
services and product ... for which extensive potential exists within the
The caravan industry looked forward to exploring the areas of industry,
innovation and science with Greg Hunt and Craig Laundy, along with their
colleagues Paul Fletcher, Darren Chester and Josh Frydenberg.
"There are exciting possibilities in the industry and in infrastructure
development in the regions, which will help make the industry more
competitive," Mr Lamont said.
"An industry that is enabled to be at the forefront of technology
development will be able to provide valuable connectivity that will keep
Australians travelling around Australia long into the future."


text:
Online Store eMAG Fined Due to Violation of Bulgarian Trade Competition LawBusiness | March 16, 2015, Monday // 13:36| views
The Bulgarian Commission for Protection of Competition has imposed a fine in the amount of BGN 137, 887 to Dante International AD for using unloyal client attraction practices.
According to the commission's press office, the reason for the fine has been violation of Bulgarian law during the advertising campaign for ''Win a Trip to the Canary Islands''.
It has been stated that the investigation was launched after a number of clients complained from the rules and regulations of the game organized by www.emag.bg. The company promised to give an award to the winners - a trip for two to the island of Tenerife. The game was conducted in the period 28.07-17.08. 2014 and participation was based on a purchase from the website worth at least BGN 100.
The commission has established that that the price of the award surpasses significantly the value of the product sold according to the criteria outlined by the regulatory framework for trade and competition.
As a result, the interests of competing companies have been affected and thus such methods of attracting clients can be deemed unlawful.
The sanctions have been imposed in alignment with the Law on Competition Protection.
This has not been the first fine that www.emag.bg has received. The company had suffered a BGN 500, 000 fine previously on account of its Black Friday campaign.
We need your support so Novinite.com can keep delivering news and information about Bulgaria! Thank you!


text:
TSW Staff Partners on Design Charrette for Lookout Mountain, GA
The Chattanooga Times Free Press highlighted the work of Tom Walsh and Adam Williamson of TSW, who partnered with Walker Collaborative to conduct Design Charrette for Lookout Mountain, Georgia. Article, along with image and Master Plan, below.
Lookout Mountain residents help plan town center
by Chloé Morrison
Chattanooga Times Free Press
May 19, 2008
LOOKOUT MOUNTAIN, Ga. — City officials and Atlanta architects are working with residents here to plan a new town center.
About 50 residents turned out for the most recent of several public meetings.
At the meeting Thursday, residents heard from Thomas Walsh with Atlanta-based architecture firm Tunnell-Spangler-Walsh & Associates, as well as Nashville urban planner Philip Walker with the Walker Collaborative.
Mr. Walker and Mr. Walsh went over a rough draft of plans for a town center, created with resident and stakeholder input, for 16.5 acres that surround City Hall.
The plans are subject to change but include a grocery store, sidewalks, a civic building, condominiums, retail services, office space and greenspace.
A basic principle of the plan is for a cohesive architecture style and more pedestrian-friendly areas.
“If it doesn’t have an architectural strength, it doesn’t work,” Mr. Walsh said.
The vision for the architecture includes pitched roofs and stone buildings.
Mountain resident Ina Crouch attended two other public meetings before the Thursday gathering.
“I think it is a beautiful plan, and I hope it happens,” she said. “I like the architecture and the fact that they’ve left plenty of greenspace.”
Residents discussed the need to find a balance between supporting new businesses and maintaining the small-town feel of the mountain.
Mr. Walker said he thinks the new town center needs more support, but residents have expressed a “have-your-cake-and-eat-it-too attitude” when it comes to attracting tourists and maintaining a close-knit community.
“I hope we get some good-quality stores up here,” Mrs. Crouch said.
During the meeting, residents asked about the timeline for the plan and the impact development would have on traffic.
The developers said the plan is preliminary and such details have not been figured out yet. Funding for the project is also uncertain, officials said.
Lookout Mountain Mayor Tom Gifford said at the meeting he hopes the changes will not lead to a property tax hike.
The 16.5 acres are owned by the city and Scott Maclellan, who was owner of the Mountain Market before it burned down in August 2007.
Mr. Walker said he thinks there is a strong demand for another grocery store.
Mr. Maclellan said he is eager to start working on changes. He said he is going to rebuild a grocery store and has been looking at different options, such as Greenlife.
“I like the configuration,” Mr. Maclellan said at the meeting. “I love the multipurpose greenspace. We could have block parties.”
Planners and residents also discussed the possibility of adding a pool near the mountain’s soccer complexes.
Other details, such as zoning standards for the town center, will need to be worked out, but developers said this is just phase one of planning.
“What we are doing is putting together the big vision,” Mr. Walsh said.
Photos and Document
The original grocery store burned last summer.
The proposed grocery store will be 5,000 SF.
Lookout Mountain Town Center
This is a mixed-use village that will incorporate a
grocery store, city hall, police station, fire station, retail,
apartments, and a public green.
Lookout Mountain Master Plan (PDF, 1.49 MB)
We developed a master plan that creates a pedestrian-friendly environment by adding sidewalks and framing streets with human-scaled buildings that screen parking. The master plan also increases the number of residential units within the 16-acre study area.


text:
Flying Taxi DroneTaxi drone in flight
At the beginning of this week, 40 persons, among them the vice major of the South China Provincial Council, queued in Guangzhou to get a foretaste of the traffic ahead - an autonomic flying taxi. Ehang 184 drone flown the occupants on round voyages of up to 15 kilometers, some reached the maximum velocity of 130 kilometers per hour. 130 kilometers per second.
Ehang 184's highly acclaimed crewed aircraft are coming as technological firms and government agencies look for new ways to optimize city traffic and portability. Enterprises such as Uber and Didi and Alphabet daughter Waymo are piloting autonomic riding techniques that they believe will enhance road saftey. The shared use of autonomic automobiles could also make the need for owning automobiles superfluous.
In order to use the Ehang drone, travellers enter their route into the steering system, press a key and the drone takes them there. Currently, the electrically operated flying taxi has a finite cruising distance, but Ehang said it was strong enough to handle storms and even typhoons. If something goes wrong, a remote-controlled man can take over the drone controls from a central controller.
Über is also investigating the construction of flying automobiles and is planning to introduce an airport taxi by 2020. About CEO Dara Khosrowshahi said Tuesday in front of an investors' meeting in Tokyo that he can see the commercialisation of Uber Airlines' airport taxi services in five to ten years. Tesla CEO Elon Musk last weeks was given the go-ahead to build Washington DC tunnel for his nominated DC - New York Hyperteloop - an ultra-fast subterranean transportation system in which travelers ride in stand-alone electricalods at speeds in excess of 600mph.
UAVs such as the Ehang 184, which transport passengers by plane, could also help alleviate road traffic overload and reinforce the tendency towards more parking. Although no further detail is known, the firm has indicated that it has a plan for a flying taxi ride. In 2016, Ehang presented its drone for the first market launch at the electronic industry fair in Las Vegas (CES), even though many thought the drone was just a fantasy.
"We' ve been designing and debugging aircraft technologies for some considerable amount of now, and we' re at last on the test phase for the drone," Hu said this past Monday. However, the airline does not yet have a specific timetable for when its UAVs will be operational and is currently working on the addition of additional hand control options to give pilots the option to choose to fly their vehicles by hand.
"It will be a secure means of transportation that humans will actually be able to use in the future," Hu said. The Ehang company opposes companies like the German Volocopter, which has designed a flying taxi with 18 rotor blades called Volocopter VX. The Volocopter V2X briefly crashed over a platform during an Intel keyboard session at this year's CES.
However, not everyone is sure that the moment has come for independent aviation, whether with flying automobiles or unmanned aerial vehicles. Just think of the power requirements and the amount of sound produced - only a normal drone is really loud," says Chua Chwee Kan, IDC' s Chua Chwee Kan, Senior Research Manager for Big File and AI.
Tesla would even say that such cars are hazardous because parts falling on humans can hurt or slay them. "Obviously I like to fly things," said McMusk last year in an Interview with Bloomberg. "However, it is hard to believe that the flying vehicle will become a scaleable one.


text:
Mattress By Appointment, a discount mattress business, will be opening a location at 23410 Snook Lane, Ste. C-9, Tomball, in early March, owner Jeremy Justice said via email.
“Owning a small business has always been a goal of mine, and I am committed to providing people with quality mattresses at a discounted price to improve physical health and sleep quality,” Justice said. “Tomball is our home, and it is important that we serve our customers locally.”
The business will offer new name-brand mattresses at 50%-80% below retail prices, Justice said.
“Customers can expect to set an appointment at their convenience to view the selection of mattresses at our warehouse,” Justice said. “We understand that purchasing a mattress is a big investment, and we look forward to making it easy and affordable for our customers.”


text:
Still bitter over the fact that Freddos are now 30p? You may not want to read this.
Cabury has warned that, thanks to Brexit, their chocolates will likely become smaller or more expensive.Tango Ice Blast launches new peach and pomegranate flavour
The horror. Oh, the horror.
Glenn Caton, who’s in charge of Cadbury in Britain, told the Guardian that the company will likely need to increase prices or make their chocolates smaller as a way to change and adapt to the terms imposed by Brexit – so that they can continue to maintain the same quality and taste of their chocolate.
He also wants to make sure the company can stay in Britain and continue being the Cadbury we know and appreciate.
The way to do that? First off, an attempt to boost productivity. But if that isn’t enough, the company may have to raise prices or succumb to the evils of shrinkflation.
You know, when you think you’re going crazy because your chocolate bar seems smaller than it used to be and costs the same price.*
*You’re not going crazy. It’s a thing.
To be fair, this news isn’t a massive surprise.
Cabury, if you didn’t know, is part of Mondelez, the same company that changed the shape of Toblerone, thus cheating us out of delicious, close-packed chocolatey triangles.
They’re also the ones that hiked up Freddo prices, changed the Creme Egg recipe, and put round corners on Dairy Milk bars. Monsters.
There’s no confirmation yet of which chocolates may change size, whether prices will increase, or when everything we knew about the price and size of chocolate will change forevermore.
But don’t worry. We’ll be keeping a very close eye on the shelves of our corner shop and will make sure to inform you of any updates.
No one sneaks a smaller chocolate bar past our eyes without us noticing and throwing a massive tantrum. Be warned, Cadbury.


text:
Tyres may be a key beneficiary of research conducted by a team of chemists from MIT and Duke University in the USA who claim to have discovered a “counterintuitive way to make polymers stronger.” The talk is not only of increasing tyre lifespan, but also of reducing microplastic emissions.
The ETRMA has spoken in support of the European Union’s (EU) goal of delivering cleaner mobility via its recently proposed Euro 7 emissions rules. However, the association which represents tyre manufacturers across Europe, also suggested that future rules on tyres should be based on “robust scientific evidence of their real-world impact on emissions”. Specifically, ETRMA supports the use of a UN-validated test method, which is currently being developed, to establish future EU tyre abrasion limits.
The European Commission published details of the new Euro 7 standards on 10 November 2022. According to the commission, Euro 7 will “ensure cleaner vehicles on our roads and improved air quality, protecting the health of our citizens and the environment.” The transport industry has become familiar with the increasingly demanding Euro series of standards over the years. Up till now, they have focused on vehicle exhaust emissions, something that tyres can only indirectly affect through reduced rolling resistance and its impact on fuel consumption and therefore emissions. This time round however, Euro 7 brings with it standards relating to particle emissions from tyres and brakes.
Yokohama Rubber and Alps Alpine have jointly developed a technology that automatically detects wear in car tyres. The tyre maker sees potential for this technology in self-driving vehicles and shared mobility fleets.
A joint project between Sumitomo Rubber Industries, parent company of Falken Tyre Europe, and Professor Hiroshi Tani of Japan’s Kansai University has resulted in the development of an innovative power generator for tyres. It generates electricity from the rotation of the tyre and uses this to power peripheral sensors installed within the tyre. In this way, the sensors can operate without the need for batteries.
ADAC’s tyre abrasion test, which examined the tyre abrasion particles produced by three summer and three winter tyres from 15 tyre manufacturers, gave Falken’s Azenis FK510 top marks in its 225/40 R18 test, helping the Sumitomo Rubber Industries global brand to fourth place overall. The test examined the tyre abrasion particles produced by three summer and three winter tyres from 15 tyre manufacturers. Andreas Giese, senior manager corporate planning/product planning, said that the result evinced Falken’s recent development work.
Comparative tests typically evaluate the way tyres perform day-to-day, and the wider environmental impact of tyre use doesn’t get much of a look-in. German motoring association ADAC is rectifying this by examining tyres’ contribution to the problem of microplastic emissions. It looked at almost 100 products in total.
Together with the University of Southern Denmark (SDU) and the École Normale Supérieure de Lyon in France, tyre maker Continental has received a grant worth 43 million core hours of supercomputer time. This grant comes through a Partnership for Advanced Computing in Europe (PRACE) initiative and will speed up and expand the partners’ research into the decomposition of rubber polymers, a key aspect of the joint research they’ve conducted on tyre and road wear particles since 2014.
Hankook Tire will work together with Hyundai Motor and Kia to develop intelligent services for consumables management based on the three companies’ data and technologies. This collaboration will take place under a Memorandum of Understanding that the companies sealed through a virtual signing ceremony yesterday.
Sumitomo Rubber Industries (SRI) has announced the next evolution of Sensing Core, and says this latest update to its tyre sensing technology is “revolutionary”. In addition to tyre pressure, tyre load and load conditions, Sensing Core can now detect tyre wear.
Tyrata, Inc. has launched Tyrata.io, a cloud-based data portal for its IntelliTread tyre tread monitoring products. Tyrata.io works in combination with Tyrata’s Drive-Over System (DOS) to provide direct tyre measurement and real-time tread wear analysis for large vehicle fleets. According to the company, the solution has no hardware cost and is deployed within hours with no impact to current fleet operations.
An independent advisory committee to the UK Department of Health has found no compelling evidence that exposure to tyre and road wear particles poses a health risk at current UK concentrations. Based on a review of present scientific knowledge, the updated position statement recently published by the Committee on the Medical Effects of Air Pollutants (COMEAP) extends to all non-exhaust particles from road transport, including brake wear and road surface particulates.
The Tyre Collective – winners of the James Dyson Awards 2020 – have designed a device to capture tyre particulate at source. According to the UK Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs’ “Air Quality: Brake, Tyre and Road Surface Wear” report, tyre-wear accounts for nearly half of road transport particulate emissions. Furthermore, a reported half a million tonnes of tyre particles are produced annually in Europe alone, from vehicles accelerating, braking and cornering. As we move towards electric vehicles in the future, exhaust emissions will reduce but tyre particles will continue. The Tyre Collective estimate that tyre emissions may even increase, as electric vehicles become heavier due to the added battery weight. For both reasons, this year’s UK national James Dyson Award winners attempt to address this issue.
The University of Plymouth published government-funded research into what happens to particles released from vehicle tyres back in May. This comparatively recent report – as far as academic research is concerned – was launched with no-small media fanfare amid claims that tyres “could be a significant and previously largely unrecorded source of microplastics in the marine environment”. Be that as it may, the research also highlighted a number of significant knowledge gaps in this field of research.
Since October 2018, four researchers from Carnegie Mellon University in the USA have worked together with Bridgestone to develop a means for vehicles to automatically measure tyre wear. The result of this collaboration is Osprey, a mmWave sensing system that reportedly can provide accurate measurements of tyre wear in real-time.